04/05/2026
Let’s talk about bread today. When I was researching for my “History of Bread” presentation, I discovered that most major religious faiths in the world have a high respect for, and in some cases, rules around the making, handling, and use of bread.
Treating bread as something special makes sense, as bread in its hundreds of forms has been a primary staple of humanity for most of recorded history.
Without bread to form 50 to 70 percent of humanity’s diet, it is unlikely civilization would have come about.
One religious founder, Jesus Christ, went so far as to call Himself the “Bread of Life.” Shocking words in those days!
This is the Christian Easter weekend, occurring during the Jewish Passover observance. Jesus established the Christian faith’s communion sacrament, which uses bread, during a Passover Seder meal. I figured it was appropriate for this sourdough baker to bake bread for my family’s Easter weekend traditions...Jesus would have eaten sourdough, as modern yeasts were 1800 years in the future.
But I did not use barley flour, as Jesus likely consumed. The eating of barley bread would not have had a happy ending in this gluten-free household!
I made some of our agave nectar and oat GF/DF sourdough bread. (Think honey oat bread, but swapping honey for agave nectar.) Yummy! We will have a nice family communion time and sandwich bread for later.
But, why would you make your own communion bread, you may ask?
I have eaten prepackaged communion wafers many a time, but, personally, I find them to be soulless and revolting. If Jesus were doing his Last Supper communion with modern communion wafers, I suspect He would have stopped the dinner and had a few words to say.
Imagine it: “Hey, guys, what is this nasty stuff?! Life is too short to eat bad bread—this is my last chance to eat bread for a while! Send out for the good stuff! No…wait...I will make some now myself!”
If you are unfamiliar with this story, you may find a primary account in the Bible in Matthew 27:17-30.
Enjoy some great food and family time this weekend!
Pics:
1. Sprinkled oats before proofing
2. All done and ready to eat!
